After much discussion about the blogging process, it turns out that I'm the only one who usually has blog posts written well in advance. I started writing ahead two years ago after my Dad was in hospital and I had to post that I wouldn't be writing at all for a while. At the time I'm writing this, I have 25 posts scheduled and 46 more in draft status. My goal is to post regularly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. By writing ahead I can be sure I have things scheduled. I often move post dates around as more current topics come up. I try to stay 2 - 3 weeks ahead on the interviews as they take a fair bit of formatting time. I frequently reread posts before they go up to try to catch typo's and grammatical errors. I have a bad habit of writing very long run on sentences and I have to fix them frequently. I was surprised to hear that I am the only one who works ahead. I end up writing as ideas occur to me which is why I have so many drafts waiting to be finished. Often I just put down notes about the kernel of an idea and then will come back later, flesh out the post and search for a photo that works with my topic. Working ahead like this means that I never end up feeling pressured to write when the inspiration isn't there. It also gives me time to focus on other areas of my business with out having to stop to maintain my posting schedule.

6 comments:

Very sensible. I'm trying to work things out in advance but I have to get over the flying by the seat of my pants mode I seem to be in!!!! Would help to get things scheduled - especially in my rather hectic life with 4 small children!!! Thanks for the reminder : )

Oh I would love to be so organised, it's true that although my knitting blog is quite new I have tried to get into a routine of planning my next post as I'm writing my current one, but that's as far as it goes. You are very very professional.

I work like you do. I set up things a month, sometimes 2 in advance. It prevents me from posting "too much" when the creative muse strikes and still enables me to have regular postings when I'm otherwise feeling stale.

I really like this idea. I wrote posts ahead of time for a while, and then got out of the habit. Your post reminds me of what a relief it was to have extras "on the spike", as my writer-huband would say. You've inspired me to get disciplined again. Thank you!

Wow! I don't really write in advance. Sometimes I make short post drafts to jot down an idea to use later, but I never get around to actually using them, and then they go stale. I must be living in the moment!

About Me

email contact robinknits(AT)gmail(dot)com
I've been knitting my whole life. I don't even remember learning. I started making garments for myself in my teens and then explored sewing, tailoring and millinery. I want to teach knitters about fit and flattery and turn them into fashion stars!
On my blog you will find lots of interviews with knitting industry professionals, how to tutorials and a variety of posts about what's going on in the knitting world.
I love to come out and speak at shops and guilds. Here's what the Downtown Knit collective said after one of my talks:
“Robin Hunter’s inspiring talk, “The Barbie Factor,” left everyone in a feel-good mood at the conclusion of the May meeting. Heads were nodding in agreement all around ... as she tackled a multi-faced problem faced by many knitters—why don’t we knit for ourselves? She touched on many topics including fashion, body image, media and how it all relates back to our knitting.”
You can see my patterns on http://www.patternfish.com/des/robin_hunter and you can find me on Ravelry at http://www.ravelry.com/people/knittingrobin
My YouTube channel is here:http://www.youtube.com/user/robinknits?feature=mhee